Frank Ocean releases “Thinkin Bout You” digital single

 
Cover artwork for 'Thinkin Bout You' featuring Ray Buck at an arcade racing machine. An eject symbol is shown in the center, below the title.

Island Def Jam

 

Frank Ocean has officially released “Thinkin Bout You” through Island Def Jam as the lead single for his forthcoming studio album, expected sometime this year.

Ocean originally wrote the song for Bridget Kelly, who released it first commercially under the title “Thinking About Forever” on July 29, 2011. It served as the lead single from her debut EP, Every Girl, which was released three months later, on October 18.

A day before Kelly released her cover, Ocean posted his original reference track on Tumblr, introducing the song to the public. The demo, titled “Thinking About You,” later received a music video directed by the High Five Collective, released independently on Vimeo on September 15, 2011. The soundtrack features vocal harmonies in the song’s chorus and additional vocals in the bridge. Ocean portrays a doctor in the surreal short film.

The digital single includes background vocals and violins that are absent from the reference track. The two versions are the same length, although the instrumental outro is extended by 10 seconds in the single version, which cuts into two lines tacked onto the end of the demo’s final chorus.

The single’s artwork shows Ocean’s longtime friend Raymond Buck playing an arcade racing machine. In the center of the cover is the song title, set in the typeface Orator. Below the title is an upside-down eject symbol, displayed on buttons that remove physical media like CDs and DVDs.

Listen to “Thinkin Bout You” and check out the photography below.

Frank Ocean (Tumblr: @frankocean).

Ray Buck (Tumblr: @frankocean).

Michael Uzowuru (Tumblr: @frankocean).

Promotional CD (Photo: Discogs).

Promotional CD (Photo: Discogs).

Promotional CD (Photo: Discogs).

Update 2012-07-10:

“Thinkin Bout You” appears as track two on Frank Ocean’s debut studio album, Channel Orange. The album version includes some minor differences from the single, most notably in the intro, where the synthesizers are omitted, and only the violins remain.

Additionally, Raymond Buck’s sister, Julia, provided additional vocals for the track “Pilot Jones.”

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